(Say-10 Records) Spearheaded by Nicole Bechill (vocals), Jason Fusco (drums/vocals), and Noelle Shuck (rhythm guitar/vocals), this is the punk band’s seventh release since they first met each other poolside at the Bulldog Inn and made the brilliant decision to collectively form a glam rock unit in 2011. Inspired by the greats of power pop and hardcore, Shehehe’s Pet Songs is based in the gut, drawing from personal life experiences to write their lyrics, and performing them with a brazen force that has rarely been matched since punk’s heyday in the 1970s and ‘80s. Many of their intros are reminiscent of Steve Jones licks, and their stop-and-start strategy in “Summer Camp Rant” midway through keeps you engaged as ever. The energy in their music is contagious, from their single “…But I’m Tryin Hard” all the way to the final track “New Year’s Eve Eve.” This is an album that reinvigorates the sex, drugs, and rock and roll air that so many others try to emulate, truly cranking it up to 11. The nostalgia is not contrived; there is sincerity strung through their screams, grounding the listener in the fertile soil of Athens then and now. Each song on this record is an open invitation—come one, come all—to an anthemic celebration of the good, the bad and the ugly.
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